Portable flanging tool



y 5, 1970 E. G. TAYLOR 3,509,756

PORTABLE FLANGING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5. 1966 INVENTOR E. G. TAYLOR ATTORNEYS 1 May 5, 1970 E. G. TAYLOR PORTABLE FLANGING TOOL Filed Jan. 5. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet z Flcnging Corner Without Presenf lnvemlon i IZA V56 h W V Fiunging Coiner By Present Invention Ky 4 y FIG. 5

'INVENTOR E. e. TAYLOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,509,756 PORTABLE FLANGING TOOL Ervin G. Taylor, P.O. Box 324, 240 Whitney, Lake Zurich, 111.. 60047 Filed Jan. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 518,914

Int. Cl. B21d 9/14 US. Cl. 72386 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flanging tool for forming a flange along the peripheral of a sheet of metal including a body, an anvil on the body, and a hammer movable along a guide surface relative to the anvil, the guide surface and the hammer being bevelled downwardly along their lateral edges to facilitate the flanging of an inverse corner. The hammer and the shaft may be formed as a single integral piece mountable through the side of the body.

This invention relates generally to an apparatus for forming a flange adjacent the edge of a sheet of metal, and more particularly this invention relates to a compact, portable, power driven flanging tool.

In the fabrication of apparatus having sheet metal forming one portion thereof, it is often desirable to crimp an edge or to form indentations or flanges along an edge of the sheet metal material to provide for the insertion of holding elements approximately flush with the surface of the sheet metal at the edge thereof. For example it may be necessary to crimp or to form a flange at the' edge of a portion of the sheet metal in a car body construction.

Prior apparatus for forming crimped edges and flanges at the edge of a piece of sheet metal has been of two types. First, there is the hand operated flanging tool. While this type has the advantage of mobility, it has not been satisfactory in use since considerable time, skill and care on the part of the operator are required to form a flange. Further, the flange forming operation is quite fatiguing and thus the operator must work quite hard to form the flange and then the flange itself will quite probably be of an inferior quality.

The other type of flanging tool is the power driven tool. Power driven flanging tools expedite the operation of forming the flange and improve the accuracy and speed thereof thus leaving the time of the operator open for giving attention to properly placing the workpiece with respect to the metal bending surfaces of the tool and thereby properly supervising the operation of the machine. Also, power operated flanging tools eliminate the strains caused by buckling or distortion of the sheet metal when the flange is formed by the hand operated tools. However, even the previously known power driven tools have been unsatisfactory in many respects. For example, they have either been too large to move from place to place or so awkward in their design and construction that simple manipulation and proper operation of the tools was not possible.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a compact, portable, completely mobile flanging tool which is superior to all known flanging tools and is designed to be operated by a power driven means. The present invention may find unlimited use in areas where the most known flanging tools have been unsuitable and unworkable. For example, since the present machine may be carried to the object to be flanged, the device may be employed, for example, in an automobile repair shop where it would be impossible to form a flange by known large and cumbersome power driven machines or where it would be inefiicient to employ a hand operated tool. Al-

3,509,756 Patented May 5, 1970 ternatively, the present invention may be employed, whereever the large flanging machines have been used, for example, right in the production line itself, thereby providing mobility and allowing the tool to be moved from plate to place within the factory.

According to the present invention there is provided a flanging tool having a body portion comprising a lower body portion and a back body portion. One of the two working members, the hammer or the anvil, is rigidly connected to the end of the lower body portion away from the back body portion and the other working member is mounted to slide on the lower body portion into and out of contact with the rigidly connected working member. A shaft, rigidly connected to the movable member passes through the back body portion and out beyond the tool where the shaft is adapted to be connected to a power driven means. According to one feature of the invention the shaft is connected to the movable member before either are placed onto the tool. Thus, the movable member and the shaft may be formed as one integral piece.

A suitable holding means is provided for placing the shaft into the back body portion and holding the shaft in position so that it can slide longitudinally in the body portion. Thus the hammer and anvil, which contact metal to be flanged, are mounted to project upwardly from the lower body portion. A handle or other means for firmly and securely holding the tool then projects downwardly from the body portion. In this manner the tool may be operated safely since the handle extends in a direction away from the working members.

The opposing faces of the anvil and hammer are designed to perform a dual function of holding the sheet metal to be flanged and actually forming the flange. The anvil has a raised portion for holding the work and a recessed portion for receiving the edge of the metal which is to be flanged. The hammer on the other hand has a recessed portion for cooperating with the anvil work holding portion to hold the work, and a raised hammer portion which cooperates with the indented portion of the anvil to form the flange. The first mentioned portions, or surfaces, those which hold the work to be flanged, perform no flanging operations themselves since they merely pinch the work in the manner that a pair of pliers would pinch the work. The indented anvil portion and raised hammer portion, on the other hand, are spaced away from the holding surfaces. Thus, as the tool is placed on the edge of a piece of sheet metal to be flanged the work holding surfaces pass over the edge of the work first and c ntinue until the edge of the work is adjacent the lower body portion. As the anvil and hammer are then brought to gether the two work holding surfaces merely pinch the sheet metal in plane flush with the plane of the remainder of the sheet metal. However the raised hammer portion urges the edge of the sheet metal away from this plane into the indentation in the anvil thereby forming the flange.

According to one feature of the present invention the surface of the lower body portion adjacent the working members is bevelled, or curved downwardly about a longitudinally directed axis and the hammer, which slides along the lower body portion, is concavely recessed to fit on the bevelled lower body portion. The bevelled construction serves several purposes, for example it 1) serves as a guide for the movable member and (2) allows the tool to be inserted at a greater distance into an internal corner of a piece of sheet metal thereby allowing a greater quantity of the corner area to be flanged in comparison with a tool having the same raised hammer portion height but not having the curved or bevelled lower body portion.

In order to facilitate forming the flange, and to avoid distorting the work, the upper edge of the raised hammer portion, that edge adjacent the hammer work holding portion, is curved. This provides several advantages. First it allows an area of play between the raised hammer portion and the edge of the anvil indented portion, thereby minimizing undesirable distortion. Secondly it presents to the work a greater maximum stress contact area (as compared with a straight hammer edge) thereby further eliminating undesirable distortion of the work. Also, to avoid scratching or distortion of the work, all of the edges around the anvil face and hammer face should be minutely curved.

It is an object of this invention to provide a portable mobile and compact flanging tool which is adapted to be driven by a power driven means and is superior to all known flanging tools.

It is another object of this invention to provide a flanging tool in which a movable working member, which cooperates with a stationary work member, may be integrally connected to a shaft which may be connected to a power driven means, and for positioning the shaft in the body of the flanging tool in a compact and eflicient manner.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a flanging tool in which a bevelled guide connecting means between a movable and a stationary work member, which means allows the tool to be inserted into an internal corner to a greater extent than is possible with other fianging tools.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a fianging tool having work surfaces designed so that distortion of the work is substantially minimized.

Other objects and the intended advantages of this invention will become apparent in light of the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the flanging tool of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspecive view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the hammer taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain operational advantages of the tool of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, which show a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown in FIG. 1 an elevation view of the hanging tool of the present invention. The fianging tool It) comprises a body 11 having a lower body portion 12 and a back body portion 13. The back body portion 13 has a hole 14 formed therein extending from the back of the body to the front of the back body portion. In direct communication with the circular hole 14 is a hemispherical cut out 15 (see FIG. 3) extending also from the back of the body to the front of the back body portion. This cylindrical hole 14 and the larger hemispherical cut out 15 are provided for inserting a shaft 26 (which will be discussed in greater detail below) into the hole 14 from the side of the body portion 13. The shaft 26 may be placed, sideways, into the circular hole 14 after which an insert 16 in the shape of a half of a hollow cylinder is placed longitudinally into the hemispherical cut out 15. Studs 17 passing through the body portion 13 from the side thereof opposite from the cut out 15 then enter the insert 16 and hold the same in the slot 15. In this manner the shaft 26 is held for longitudinal .but fixed against lateral movement in the back body portion 13.

Extending below the body \portion is a threaded stud 18 having threads 19. This stud is adapted to receive a handle 20. It will be noted that the handle 20 is positioned on the tool so that the tool may be held comfortably and firmly while in use. The handle, of course,

may be of any material which is suitable ot hold the tool firmly. It will be noted also that the handle 20 is placed on the side of the body away from the hammer and anvil working members (which will be discussed in more detail below). Accordingly the arrangement of the present invention provides for safety of operation.

Extending upwardy from the outward end of the lower body portion 12 is a working member rigidly connected to the lower body portion 12. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention this working member is an anvil 21. A movable working member, in this case a hammer 25 is mounted to move along the lower body portion 12 into and out of contact with the anvil 21. The hammer is mounted between the anvil and the back body portion and is rigidly connected to the shaft 26 which extends through the back body portion. Accordingly, by reciprocating the shaft the hammer may be made to approach and move away from the anvil 21. Since the shaft 26 may be inserted into the back body portion from the side thereof, it is possible, according to one feature of the present invention, to form the shaft and movable working member as one integral unit before placing the unit onto the tool. Consequently, the unit may be integrally formed from high grade metal alloy.

The work to be flanged is placed between the anvil 21 and hammer 25 so that the edge of the work to be flanged abuts the lower body portion 12. Power means is then connected to shaft 26 for urging the hammer 25 towards and away from the anvil 21. As the hammer 25 approaches the anvil 21 a work holding surface 22 on the anvil and work holding surface 27 on the hammer pinch the work and hold it in the manner that ordinary pliers would merely pinch and hold the work. Positioned on the working members between the holding surfaces and the lower body portion, however, are the flanging portions of the working members. An indented portion 23 in the anvil is mated with a raised portion 28 on the hammer. The intersection between portions 22 and 23 is a plane surface 35 (see FIG. 2) from one side of the tool to the other while the intersection between portions 27 and 28, surface 36, is curved at the sides (see FIG. 4). The space between surfaces 35 and 36, when the surfaces 23 and 28 are in contact, provides an area of play so that the work will not be distorted or bent other than as intended for forming the flange. Curved surface 36 also reduces undesirable distortion by spreading out the area on the work where maximum strain of the work occurs. Referring to the right hand side of FIG. 5, the area of maximum strain would be spread along the curved portions of line 36. If, on the other hand, the line 36 were straight as shown at 136 at the left in FIG. 5, then maximum strain would be highly concentrated at points 136', thereby distorting the work. Thus, as holding surfaces 22 and 27 hold the work, the raised portion 28 extends into the indentation 23 carrying with it a portion of the work and thereby flanging the work along its edge.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4 the lower body portion 12 is bevelled downwardly and the bottom of the hammer 25 is concavely recessed to fit on the portion 12. In this manner the portion 12 acts as a guide for the hammer 25. In addition the bevelled portion 12 allows a greater area of work to be flanged when the tool is applied to an internal corner. FIG. 5 also illustrates this operational advantage. If the lower body portion 12 were straight across, as in 12A at the left hand side of FIG. 5, then only a distance X directly inwardly from the corner would be flanged. On the other hand, referring to the right hand side of FIG. 5, for a tool having a working area of the same height H and width W as the tool in the left hand side, but having a downwardly bevelled portion 12, a greater distance, Y directly inwardly from the internal comer would be flanged.

The edges 37 and 38 in FIGS. 2 and 4 should be slightly rounded to eliminate the possibility of scratching or distorting the metal being worked.

With the fianging tool of the present invention it is also possible to perform certain sheet metal pressing operations by limiting the insertion of the sheet metal to the work holding areas 22 and 27 (that is, preventing the work from passing below lines 35 and 36). For example, by using the tool in this manner, sheet metal may be overlapped at the edge by bending the edge of the sheet back over the main portion of the sheet and crimping the overlapped edge around a second sheet inserted between the main sheet and the overlapped edge. To provide a suitable work area for this pressing operation, the work holding areas 22 and 27 have been increased in height (the distance between lines 35 and 36 and the top of the members 21 and 25) by at least fifty percent over the height normally required for holding the work. It is apparent that any suitable means may be attached to the tool to prevent the insertion of the work below lines 35 and 36. For example a piece of material 60, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, may be attached to anvil 21 and extend along the sides thereof across the working area between members 21 and 25 to block off the portion of the working area below line 35.

Having described a preferred embodiment it will be understood that this form is shown merely for purposes of illustration and that the same may be modified as discussed above and embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A portable fianging tool comprising: a body having a back body portion and a lower body portion, means connected to said body for holding and supporting the tool in the hand of the user while the tool is being used, an anvil member and a hammer member, one of said members being a fixed member rigidly connected to the said body, and the other of said members being movable in a longitudinal direction towards and away from said fixed member, a shaft connected to said movable member and movably supported by the said back body portion, said shaft being adaptable for connection to a power driven means for moving the said movable member relative to, and in cooperation with, said fixed member, the outer portions of the top of the said lower body portion being bevelled downwardly and the bottom of the hammer, adjacent the said top of the lower body portion being recessed to mate with the bevel of the top of the lower body portion.

2. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein the anvil is the fixed member and is connected to the lower body portion and the hammer is the movable memher.

3. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 2 wherein the anvil is spaced from the said back body portion, and said hammer is mounted to slide on the lower body portion between the back body portion and the anvil.

4. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein said movable member and said shaft are one integral piece, said back body portion has a recess for supporting the shaft, said recess including an opening in the side of the back body portion from one end to the other end thereof, and said recess is adapted to receive an insert for holding the shaft in the recess.

5. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein said holding and supporting means comprises an extension adapted to receive a handle and extending from the side of the lower body portion away from the side thereof adjacent the anvil and hammer.

6. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein the anvil member and the hammer member have confronting working surfaces, said anvil surface including a work holding surface and an indented surface recessed from the plane of the anvil work holding surface, and the hammer working surface has a work holding surface cooperating with the anvil work holding surface to hold the work therebetween, and a raised hammer surface which cooperates with the anvil indented surface to form a flange in the said work.

7. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 6 wherein the edge of the said surfaces are slightly curved to prevent scratching of the work.

8. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 6 wherein the anvil is the fixed member and is fixed to the lower body portion, and the hammer is the movable member.

9. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 6 wherein the edge joining the raised hammer surface and the hammer work holding surface is curved away from the hammer work holding surface towards the raised hammer surface.

10. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 6 in which said work holding surfaces are of sufiicient size to hold and press together two sheets of metal, and including a means, attached to said tool, for preventing insertion of the work into the area between the said raised hammer surface and said anvil indented surface.

11. A portable fianging tool comprising: a body having a back body portion and a lower body portion, means connected to said body for holding and supporting the tool in the hand of the user while the tool is being used,

an anvil member and a hammer member, one of said members being a fixed member rigidly connected to the said body, and the other of said members being a movable member movable relative to the said body and fixed member, a shaft connected to said movable member and movably supported by the said back body portion, said shaft being adaptable for connection to a power driven means for moving the said movable member relative to, and in cooperation with, said fixed member, said movable member and said shaft being one integral piece, said back body portion having a recess for supporting the shaft, said recess including an opening in the side of the back body portion from one end to the other end thereof, and said recess being adapted to receive an insert for holding the shaft in the recess.

12. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 11 wherein said holding and supporting means comprises an extension adapted to receive a handle and extending from the side of the low body portion away from the side thereof adjacent the 'anvil and hammer.

13. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 11 wherein the anvil member and the hammer member have confronting working surfaces, said anvil surface including a work holding surface and an indented surface recessed from the plane of the anvil work holding surface, and the hammer working surface has a work holding surface cooperating with the anvil work holding surface to hold the work therebetween, and a raised hammer surface which cooperates with the anvil indented surface to form a flange in the said work.

14. A portable fianging tool as claimed in claim 13 wherein the edge joining the raised hammer surface and the hammer work holding surface is curved away from the hammer work holding surface towards the raised hammer surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,516,717 11/1924 Coleman 310-50 X 2,123,339 7/1938 Misuraca 31050 X 2,381,982 8/ 1945 Nardone.

2,468,469 4/1949 Smith 310-50 2,507,740 5/1950 Tincler 72-391 2,685,042 7/1954 Klett 310-50 3,028,987 4/1962 Van Hecke 72391 3,374,656 3/1968 Di Maio 72-391 3,215,008 11/1965 Chandler 72-386 3,289,454 12/ 1966 Chandler 72414 X CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 72-414, 475 

